U.s., Soviets Cement Deal On Construction Projects

September 18, 1985|By By Thom Shanker, Chicago Tribune.

MOSCOW — The United States and the Soviet Union agreed Tuesday to cooperate on 18 construction-related projects, an accord hammered out in the first Cabinet-level exchange on housing and building since 1978.

Samuel Pierce Jr., the U.S. secretary of housing and urban development, announced the signing of the four-year agreement after two days of talks with Soviet officials.

The agreement calls for cooperation on such things as soft-soil construction, earthquake-zone design and cold-weather building precautions. Pierce said the accord will help the prosperity of both superpowers ``and, indeed, the peace of the world.``

Members of the joint U.S.-Soviet committee that worked out the accord said they were particularly pleased they could make progress despite the increasingly heated debate between Moscow and Washington over arms control.

They said such noncontroversial agreements create a better climate for the November summit between President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

The 20-member committee included six construction and real estate representatives. Pierce said trade agreements may result from the

negotiations.

Commission members said the agreement calls for the study of Soviet techniques of cold-weather construction, which could be useful to the U.S. in Alaska.

Arthur Ezra of the U.S. National Science Foundation said there will also be exchanges to improve building design in earthquake-prone areas, such as California.

``In south and central Asia and in the areas near Japan, the land is shaken up quite a bit,`` Ezra said. ``The Soviet Union has pioneered techniques for measuring and predicting soil stability in earthquake areas.`` Kenneth Horn, president of Horn & Bottoms Inc., a cement manufacturing consultant, said the Soviet Union will benefit in return from U.S. information on energy-saving methods of mixing cement.

While the two nations have had a construction cooperation agreement since 1974, Pierce is the first HUD secretary to meet with his Soviet counterpart since 1978.

The U.S. delegation visited Leningrad before arriving in Moscow on Friday and will tour Kiev and Odessa before heading home.